My very first pc grow box! Lookin' for opinions!

Hi guys!

I just finished to build my very first pc grow box!

Before start to test it, I'm looking for opinions

The purpose is to grow only 1 single plant each time.

Follow some pics!

specs:

-standard pc case
- 2x fans (from pc ac power)
- aluminium foils and sunlight car panels for isolation purpose.
- 2x 6500k CFL + led lamp (90 red and blue leds)

not very stealthy but if tht doesnt matter then good job.
be careful with foil as it can cause hotspots and burn your leafs

Hi man!
Stealthly is not the main problem. Unfortunately there's a light escape from the rear panel, where is placed the fan...

Thanks for the note about aluminium foils, you think I must remove them and replace with other materials?

i would deffinetly get something other than foil, i learned the hard way and burned all 3 of my plants. thankfully their ok now, except for a little nute burn. but anyway nice box. i was thinkin of a pc grow box but changed my mind as i wanted a bigger box.

man that shit looks awesome!!!!! howd u do that u got me thinking bout making one?

what are your temps in there? looks good. you're just going to want to get some sort of shelving or other means of getting the plants closer to the lights, unless you are able to adjust them..it's hard to tell in the pics, but it looks like you have them well secured to the top.

I'll place mt plant on a little wood support to get it closer to lights, I suppose I'll re place the support accordino to plant growth..
I don't know about temp, but the fans seem to work good and the mai led lamp is really cold.

I think to ho LST,but bifore starting my first growth I Wanda be sure the box is acceptable...

I had a tip a while ago to just spray paint flat white inside for good reflection inside of a PC case. its working out great and you dont get the rattle off that aluminum foil when the fans blow on it. plus the paint looks so much cleaner and is much easier to install and it wont fall off when the heat rises in there.

I fixed my light leaks with a little bondo and some sand paper them painted white right over all of it. worked like a charm.

And your box does look pretty sweet. Ive always liked the LED lights inside small spaces. Keep it up!

In my case painting will be a not easy way...The panels are not regular and the reflctive cover is a good solution to prevent light and air escape...

I've to find an alternative material to aluminium foils!

mylar is cheap and easy to get

Mg911 said:

In my case painting will be a not easy way...The panels are not regular and the reflctive cover is a good solution to prevent light and air escape...

I've to find an alternative material to aluminium foils!

Click to expand...

irregular panels sound like even a better reason to paint! it looks like you have more than enough space to not worry about heat with the bulbs you have, but that windshield reflector stuff made my box way too hot. you can seal up the edges with white duct tape to help seal in light/air better. or, you can use those emergency blankets at walmart/kmart. they're mylar and super cheap. but, having lined mine completely with windshield reflector, then taking about 10 minutes to spray paint everything...i'll be sticking with flat white paint for any future builds.

having said that, it looks like you got everything well sorted as it is, so keep on keepin on. just replace that aluminum. you're going to want to get a thermometer (and hygrometer, ideally). i have one i got for like $30 i think..has an outdoor probe i keep close to the highest point of the plant so i can see the temp of the box, temp near the plant and also has relative humidity as well. keeps high/low records as well.

where did you get the led and how much did it cost? interested to see how that works with the cfls

Led lamp about 30€ on ebay from UK seller... I never grow nothing at all, so I'm curios as you are about the performance of this system

Anyway... I removed aluminium foils and replaced with mylar. I seal the edge of the case with black isolating tape, still see a little light escape but I think will not be a problem because the box stay in a dark room.

Now I'll get a couple of active carbon panels to cover the fans...

Hi guyz, finally I started my very first plant!

I also upgraded my light, an now is :

-90 red-blue led lamp
-2 18w 6500k cfl
-2 25w 6400k cfl

Average temp in fisrts 10 days : 27°C
Ph about 7 (I use a normal ph/light/moist meter)

Some pics (I star my journal this night I think)

good job. the plant looks good so far. good luck on your first grow

Oh I forget...

The plant is a Super Skunk automatic from sensi seeds

I don't know if this strain is the bast for my set up, but I read that autoflowering are better for newbyes...

Just a question. Some one could tell me if my light are ok? I need more for a box of this size?

i think you'll be okay. with just your cfl's you're at 86 watts..then add your led. the biggest thing, like with any cfl grow, will be keeping your plants close enough to the lights. you could probably ditch the reflector on the led..leds emit a very directional light, and i don't think there's much to reflect back downwards. it looks like you could cram more cfl's on power strips on the walls..for veg (i see it's an autoflower, but it still veg's until it's sexually mature) you're probably fine. but once you hit flowering, i'd try to stuff as many bulbs as you can in there before heat/space becomes an issue. just my $0.02. looking good though. i've got an auto i'm going to try next

The problem is that LED lamp has a differente shape respect cfl bulbs, if I rise the support to cfl I think i will remove the LED lamp from actual position and I dont know how hang it in alternative place

Any suggestion are welcome !

Follow my progress to my grow journal! I also insert new pics of the box!

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/527647-my-very-first-grow-pc.html